Brothers in Arms
by Forever Free Evergreen
Summary: Three different men must reunite a team that will have to oppose two warring factions towards one goal: the prevention of a ravaged future R
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: It's my birthday & I'll post this if I want to, Yada blah-blah blah. I wouldn't post it here if I owned it._

_This is a (slightly early) birthday treat for both me & my readers, mostly for the latter. A quick caution though, due to the fact that I've only got the episodes on DVD up to #18 this fic may go on hiatus but since I update and post other fics before continuing it might not happen. I hope. ENJOY!_

**Chapter 1**

Usually, night time in the suburbs of New York was quiet and peaceful. At least, that is what it was eleven months ago before the single event that had caused one of the most important squads that managed to keep the peace between both humans and mutants to cease to exist. The day the X-Men lost both their mentor and their hope for a future without violence and war.

Professor Charles Xavier was a mutant with the power to read people's minds. Along with his long time friend and fellow mutant Eric Lensherr, he created a school for those like himself in order to help them gain control over their unique powers and abilities. In time, the first of his students became the X-Men, a group of mutants who used their powers to prevent other mutants from terrorizing the human populace as well as find new mutants and help them before their powers became their downfall.

As the years grew, the populace of the school increased until the amount of students residing rivalled that of the more popular universities. Some of the students, once graduated, began schools for mutants themselves in their home countries believing that they were honouring Xavier by passing on what he had taught them to the next generation. Despite the hatred against them, it appeared that humanity and mutant kind could co-exist side by side; from a certain point of view.

Unfortunately, disaster soon struck. What appeared to be some sort of psychic based attack by unknown forces caused a massive explosion, destroying the school and surrounding grounds and wiping both Xavier and former student Jean Grey from the face of the Earth. With the sudden death of their mentor, the tide had changed for the worst for mutant kind. Mutants were now feared and hunted down by groups of human vigilante groups and a new type of soldier force that went by MRD, Mutant Response Division, that captured any and all mutants they found regardless of the mutants age, gender and beliefs.

Although the X-Men had disbanded shortly after their mentor's death, at least one of them tried to follow the path Xavier had shown them. Standing on the roof of a closed down building, Kurt Wagner calmly surveyed the MRD unit that was slowly trundling down the street towards him. As one of the first students to be taken under Xavier's wing, personally recruited by Charles Xavier himself, Kurt had come to see that everyone, human and mutant alike, was special in some way and that the paths they walked were of their own choosing.

Having been abandoned at a young age due to his demon looks, Kurt grew up in a circus run by his adoptive parents. His inhuman skill in acrobatics made him the main attraction with audiences thinking that his features were just a costume. When he was sixteen, Kurt was discovered to be an actual mutant and the townspeople tried to capture and burn him believing that he was a real demon before Xavier came to his aid.

Once at the school, he showed an unnatural flair for fencing and took up the sport as a new past time after watching an old black and white version of Treasure Island. With a kind and caring personality that was the direct opposite of his appearance, he had became popular within the student populace and was often seen helping others out or doing something humorous, the latter mostly involved harmless pranks and jokes although it depended who was on the receiving end.

When the explosion occurred, Kurt had taken up the mantle of leadership and begun orchestrating the relief effort seeing as their true leader, Scott Summers, was too overcome by grief at Jean Grey's demise. Despite managing to hold them all together, Kurt made the painful choice of sending all the students back to their homes seeing as there was no place for them to stay at the moment using what little funds they had left to arrange for flights abroad. He even allowed the X-Men the choice of leaving as well which most of them did although several kicked up a fuss about it.

Upon seeing that he was now on his own again, Kurt became a wandering traveller and helped out any and all mutants he met along his travels in any way that he could. Now, more than ten months after making one of the hardest decisions of his life, he had found himself not far from the place he had called home for over six years now watching an MRD unit tear open another home that apparently housed a defenceless mutant.

He watched as two soldiers threw a girl, probably still in her late teens, out onto the street where five more soldiers were waiting each with a shock rod and a sadistic grin on their faces. Apparently, they were going to have themselves some fun before carting her off to where the rest of her kind were being kept for the time being. Despite knowing her fate, the girl spat at the unit's captain before saying something that Kurt was certain was not at all lady-like in Spanish.

Just as Kurt was about to jump in and rescue the girl, although he knew he would probably get an earful from her about not letting her fight her own battles, he noticed something coming towards the unit from atop the buildings at the other end of the street, and rather quickly too. Running across the rooftops with the grace of a cat, the approaching person suddenly sprang into the air, reminding Kurt of a bird of prey the way the persons arms was spread out whilst his legs seemed to be hidden until he came in reach with his prey, before landing on all fours ten feet from the soldiers.

As the person remained in the position he landed in, Kurt took stock of who he was dealing with. The vigilante wore only a pair of black shorts and a sleeveless hoodie that seemed to cling to him allowing all to see his muscular and well toned physique. A fraction of a second later, Kurt realised that the vigilante's arms were not well toned but was in fact his skin colour; it was orange with black stripes reminding Kurt of a Bengal tiger.

When the vigilante stood up, he stood on the balls of his feet as if it were natural enforcing Kurt's belief the guy had a feline mutant gene in him until his hood fell down causing him to jump slightly. Asides the ears being cat like, the vigilante had a face resembling a hawk but thankfully did not have a beak. Instead he had a Mohawk.

'_I guess that's vhat you get vhen you cross an Indian vith a tiger und a hawk'_ Kurt mused as he watched the scene before him play out. Already, one of the soldiers had taken a step forward and pointed his shock rod menacingly towards the vigilante.

"You looking for a fight muttie?!" He said menacingly.

"All I want" The vigilante said with no accent meaning he was born American as he pointed at the girl. "Is for you _stronzo_ to let the _Signorita_ go and return to the cave you crawled out of"

'_Fluent in several languages too'_ Kurt thought.

The soldier seemed unimpressed by what the vigilante said and attempted to shock him, only to find himself and his weapon flung in opposite directions due to his opponents swift movements. Kurt decided to make himself known by suddenly teleporting to the girl's side then disappearing again with her. The soldiers surrounding the girl were caught off guard and by the time the shock wore off the vigilante had closed the gap between them.

Becoming an orange and black blur, the vigilante took out the four soldiers in as many seconds using his enhanced speed and strength to knock them out cold. Hearing the sound of a machine charging up, the vigilante sprinted towards a wall and scaled it swiftly as a stream of electric projectiles riddled the space he was previously in and began following him.

"Run muttie! Run!" The soldier yelled as he held down the trigger of the shock rifle not caring what he shot as he aimed it at the evading enemy. The next second, the rifle disappeared from the soldier's hands in a cloud of smoke. The soldier barely had time to realise what had happened before Kurt reappeared behind him and knocked him out with his own weapon.

"_Danke, Messer Nightcrawler_" The vigilante said once he had landed beside his saviour.

_[I do not know whether to be surprised that you speak German or that you know me]_ Kurt replied as he stared at the person before him. _[Especially if I don't know who _you_ are]_

_[My apologies, Mister Wagner]_ The vigilante said in German as he bowed in greeting. _[When I still lived with my tribe, I was gifted the name _Tigerhawk_. My real name is _Joshua Greenwald_]_

"The CEO of Greenvald Incorporated?! The company that vent bankrupt seven months ago und their boss killed himself out of grief?!" Kurt blurted out in English several seconds later after he remembered the name. "But I thought you were human!"

"Let us talk elsewhere _mi amigo_" Joshua suggested as he scanned the surrounding buildings. "Unless you wish to take on their reinforcements, no"

*\#/*

"What you heard in the news about my company was what _they _told them" Joshua explained once the two of them were at his makeshift camp for the night. "My true appearance was a secret to all except family and one other. After what happened at your school for kids and the sudden rise in mutant hunting, that one other went to the MRD forcing me to flee before I was captured"

"That does not explain vhy the company vent bankrupt" Kurt commented as he eyed an impressive looking tek bow that lay beside a full quiver of arrows and a thin staff about a foot long. "Nor how you know me"

"Do you still have that TK421 Image Inducer you were given not long after you first arrived?" Joshua asked as one corner of his mouth curled up allowing Kurt to see a set of white fangs.

Kurt stared at Joshua in shock. "Are you telling me that Greenvald Inc vas the company that gave the Professor the technology to complete his dream _und_ mien inducer?"

Joshua nodded. "My adoptive father was one of Professor Xavier's close friends and allies. All the technology, including the Mk2 Blackbird, came from a secret division of his company that consisted entirely of sympathisers who thought along the same lines as Xavier himself"

Kurt was dumbstruck; right in front of him, was the man that gave him the means of living amongst the very people who had tried to kill him.

"As for the company going bankrupt, I diverted all its profits into the resignation and retirement funds of each and every employee before escaping with what remained of my own fortune after securing the rest of my adoptive family" Joshua finished somewhat lamely. "It's still a sizeable sum, enough to rebuild a certain school I might add"

Kurt, who could not help but burst out laughing at Joshua's scheme, inhaled sharply. Before him was a man who was saying that he could rebuild the mansion he had come to call home. He knew that something as miraculous as this could not come free of charge.

"Und vhat do you vant in return?" He asked suspiciously.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you yet" Joshua replied reluctantly. "At least, not until _the third _joins us"

_*/#\*_

_How was that for an opener? For fans of my other works, there will be the usual pairing I go for so rest assured._

_Review if possible_

_& 'til next time_

_Watch this space & peace out_


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimers on chapter 1_

_I seem to be getting back in the rythm, yay for me & yay for you because you get more frequent updates. On the subject all those who think it's about time I updated this fic raise your hand then forget about reading this header & get on with reading the story._

**Chapter 2**

A lone motor bike skidded to a halt in front of the ruined gates. Stepping off his bike he walked through the broken gateway to stand on the front grounds of what remained of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, the place he had once called home until the explosion a year ago.

Stopping and closing his eyes for a second, the man could still remember that day down to the smallest detail. He remembered walking towards the Professor to say his goodbyes to the man who had offered him sanctuary. As he neared, he saw the man many looked to as a mentor suddenly clasp his head and vaguely noted that Jean, a red head with similar mental powers as the Professor, was clutching her head also. The next second, a blinding flash and a wave of intense heat like some sort of explosion occurred. When the dust settled all he saw was the remains of the institutes front lawn and a crater that contained the ruined remains of Xavier's wheelchair.

Seeing that Xavier had somehow disappeared, he was half expecting Scott, a fellow mutant he did not get along with and leader of the X-men team, to start issuing orders. Instead, the man in question was currently calling out for Jean who had mysteriously vanished as well. He was therefore surprised when he heard the accented voice of Kurt, another member of the X-men team whose demonic appearance was a stark contrast to his kind and gentle personality, speak out over everyone who was crying or moaning in pain or confusion.

He watched in amazement as the elf, still covered in the adhesive sludge that had not moments ago cemented him to the ceiling of the Danger Room, started issuing orders to everyone and even slapped fellow teammate Ororo to snap her out of her depression and make her help out Hank who was tending to the wounded. If he did not know any better, he thought that Kurt had unofficially become the next leader of the X-men.

Opening his eyes to the ruins one more, he made his way through them to a particularly large slab of concrete. Like a fox checking for any predators before scurrying down the hole to its den, he carefully sniffed the air for any scent of an intruder. Smelling only the quiet air, he quickly lifted up the slab to reveal an elevator shaft. Jumping into the hole and unsheathing the claws that were embedded into his metal skeleton, he used them to slow his decent unaware that two shadowy beings had managed to keep downwind of him and had saw him disappear down the shaft.

Land slightly harder than expected at the bottom of the shaft, he stealthily made his way towards the only room in the underground labyrinth he was in that had working lights. Looking inside, he saw Hank McCoy whose codename, the Beast, was aptly named by his beast-like appearance currently hovering over a microscope examining something whilst taking notes without lifting his eyes of whatever specimen he was researching.

"Whatcha working on, Hank?" He asked causing Hank to exclaim in shock before turning to his unexpected guest.

"Logan, seriously, must you _always_ make an entrance?" Hank asked the man who was currently skimming the pages of the notebook as if interested.

"Yeah" Logan replied lazily. "But you've gotta learn to relax, Hank. Get out more"

"Yeah well" Hank began as he snatched back his notepad. "With the Professor and Jean unaccounted for, it's hard for me to do anything else"

"Yeah, me neither" Logan agreed sobering up. "Learned anything new?"

Hank went back to the table he was working at as he skimmed through his notepad to the appropriate page. Ever since the explosion, Hank had been trying to find the cause of what had happened. However, without the right resources and funding, he managed to uncover very little. The only thing positive was that Hank, like any other scientist, got more intrigued with each piece of the mystery he unravelled.

"I have worked out that the explosion was indeed centred on Charles location, so he was the likely _target_" Hank stated after finding the right page. "However, the cause still eludes me. There was no evidence of combustion, chemical radiation or even electromagnetism which removes both the MRD _and_ Magneto"

"So who did it then?" Logan asked impatiently.

"I don't know, but I'll figure it out eventually" Hank replied slightly exasperated. "I also don't know why _you_ are here unexpectedly"

"Those freakin MRD's are getting out of hand" Logan growled. "They snatched up a family, just because they helped me after I saved their daughter from a train wreck!"

Hank was clearly surprised by the news about what the MRD were up to. Logan saving a little girl from trouble however did not surprise him at all; he and several others believed that Logan had a soft spot for kids but were too afraid to say it to the man for fear of losing their lives.

"They're arresting non-mutants now?" he asked in disbelief.

"I'm gonna fix this" Logan muttered quietly. "And I need your help to do it"

"No, no I can't" Hank said shaking his head before turning back to the microscope. "Why don't you ask the others?"

"What others?" Logan asked or rather growled.

"Perhaps the two others that's behind you?" Someone suggested from behind him. Whipping round, claws unsheathed, Logan came face to furry face with Kurt and what looked like a cross between a human, a tiger and a hawk.

"Dammit squirrel!" Logan snarled. "How many times have I told you not to do that? And how long have you been there"

"You have got to learn to relax, Logan. Get out more" Kurt said grinning at the startled Logan.

"Same old elf" Logan sighed before grinning himself. Despite Kurt's devilish sense of humour, the two of them were great friends and would often spar in the Danger Room using weapons and/or fists.

"Who's the stray?" He asked jerking his head towards the elf's new friend.

"Joshua Greenwald, or Tigerhawk if you would prefer" The cat-bird hybrid said bowing before Logan. "I am _molto onorato_ to meet you _Messer_ Wolverine, _Messer_ Beast"

Logan raised his eyebrows at Joshua whilst Hank walked over to them.

"Remarkable" He muttered as he shook Joshua's hand. "I had heard rumours that your predecessor had adopted a mutant and that he took over when he passed away, but I never thought I would get to meet you face to face"

"You know this guy?" Logan asked obviously never hearing of Joshua's name before.

"Mr Greenwald here was once the CEO of Greenwald Incorporated, the company that supplied Charles with the equipment and technology he needed to create Cerebro and created the holographic image inducers to allow those with physical mutations to _blend in_" Hank explained to Logan who was beginning to look back at Joshua in a mixture of amazement and disbelief.

"_Scusi_ my friend, but as much as I would like to discuss something with Messers Kurt and Logan, both that and my past can easily be discussed at a later date" Joshua interrupted.

"What say we save that family first, and then sit down und talk about what we've been up to over the last year" Kurt suggested.

"I take it you've got a plan, elf?" Logan asked.

"One that will take all of us to pull off" Kurt answered before looking at Hank. "That is, if you are willing to join us _Herr_ McCoy"

"Well, seeing as you _asked_" Hank said putting emphasis on the last word as he looked pointedly at Logan. "I do need to get out more, as someone kindly put it"

"_Wunderbar_" Kurt said grinning.

-\#/-

"I do hope you need me for more than just the bait to get into the prison, Kurt" Beast said as he scratched the skin around the handcuffs. "These confounded cuffs are already making me chafe"

Both Beast and Tigerhawk were sitting handcuffed in the back of the MRD mutant transport van that Nightcrawler and Tigerhawk had managed to hijack and transport them to the Institute. Wolverine and Nightcrawler were in the driver's cabin with Wolverine wearing one of the MRD's uniforms whilst Nightcrawler's image inducer was producing a holographic copy of said uniform.

"Do not worry" Nightcrawler assured the furry scientist through the little porthole. "Just act like the beast you're not to help us get through the front gate, then all we'll need of you after that are your computer und piloting skills"

"Oh joy" Beast said with mock enthusiasm as Nightcrawler closed the porthole shutter. "Would you be so kind as to provide the physical requirements of this little ruse whilst I provide the sound effects, Mr Greenwald?"

"As you wish" Tigerhawk replied. "And please, call me Joshua. Mr Greenwald makes me sound old"

"Showtime" Wolverine called through the wall banging it twice in case they did not hear him.

-\#/-

The soldier standing in the booth next to the entrance of the MRD compound walked up to the mutant transportation van as it rolled to a halt before main gate. As the driver side window rolled down to allow the driver to hand over his access key, a loud snarl could be heard from the rear of the vehicle followed by something slamming against the side so hard the whole vehicle tilted to one side startling both the soldier, the driver and the passenger.

"What kind of mutants you got in there?" The soldier asked the driver.

"Couple of big ugly beasts" The driver replied as the whole vehicle suddenly lurched to one side again. "Now hurry up, you do not want them busting out, out here"

As if to prove his point the vehicle suddenly lurched again and a lump was now seen where the creature inside tried to bust its way out.

"Y-yessir!" The soldier stammered as he quickly opened the gate for the vehicle to pass through.

Trundling through to the loading bay, the vehicle stopped and killed its engine as two soldiers headed to the rear doors to remove the mutant cargo. Upon opening the door, the soldier barely had time to register one of the mutants grab his shoulders, flip over him then throw him over to the far side of the bay getting knocked out when it collided with the wall.

"_Buenas noches" _The mutant said before its leg shot out and sent the other soldier sliding across the floor.

"Much better" Beast said as he joined Tigerhawk outside the vehicle free of his cuffs. "The stench in there was beginning to get to me"

"Did you have to jolt the truck so damn hard?" Wolverine asked Tigerhawk as he Nightcrawler joined them at the back of the vehicle.

"It convinced them, _non_?" Tigerhawk countered.

"Let's not get side tracked" Nightcrawler interrupted. "You know what to do, ja?"

"I shall locate the control room then deactivate the alarm systems and the perimeter defences" Said Beast.

"I'll seek and destroy the radar dish and any jets I find so we have a clean getaway" Wolverine smirked as he unsheathed his claws.

"I'll look for the hanger containing transport helicopters and sabotage all but one for us to escape in" Tigerhawk replied.

"Und I'll find und liberate the prisoners from their holding cells" Nightcrawler finished. "Any questions? Nien? Let's go" With that, he teleported away.

"_In bocca al lupo_" Tigerhawk said to Beast and Wolverine before dashing off the way they came.

"What did he say, _Chewie_?" Wolverine asked Beast as he jerked his thumb at Tigerhawk's retreating form.

"Good luck, if my Italian's correct. I'd say the same to you but, I believe _they_ need the luck more than you" Beast replied before making his way down the nearest corridor in search of the control room. "Try not to draw too much attention before I disable the alarms"

-\#/-

'_Now that the third has joined us, I just need to make sure I escape with them_' Tigerhawk thought as he skilfully darted across the rooftops of the compound. Despite all his skill and attributes, he had never been on a mission where his life was at stake. _'Oh Great Spirit, if you are listening, guide me to success'_

He stopped abruptly upon the edge of a building, crouched like a gargoyle as he looked down to see several soldiers and a mechanic judging by the cap and toolbox in hand walk into the building he was currently perched on. Quietly climbing down until he reached the top of the hanger door, Tigerhawk hung upside-down so that he could peek inside without being seen. Inside the hanger were ten platoon transport choppers as well as the four soldiers.

"_Evviva_" He whispered before stealthily making his way down and into the hanger.

-\#/-

The continuous tapping of the computer keys were all that the two techies manning the control room heard as they went about their usual protocol. Tonight however it would be different as Beast suddenly appeared between them hanging upside down from an overhanging pipe.

"Gentleman, there are two ways we can do this" Beast suggested.

Several seconds later, the two techies went speeding down the hall in a chair, passed Wolverine and into a wall where they slumped unconscious. Looking at the two techies then back the way they had travelled, Wolverine walked up the hall where he saw Beast typing away at the console they were at just minutes before.

"It was their choice" Beast said when he noticed Wolverine in the doorway.

"I didn't say a word" Wolverine replied. "I've given their jets some new holes that'll need patching before they can refuel and perminently stopped their radar from functioning"

"And I, have just disabled the alarm and defence systems as well as scrambled their radio frequencies so that they can't call in for backup" Beast said as he finished typing something. "All that's left, is to help Kurt free the prisoners and then rendezvous with Joshua at the hanger"

-\#/-

"We told you, we don't know anything!" The Mother yelled as she clutched her daughter whilst glaring daggers at the scarred soldier for whatever he had done to her husband.

"Perhaps not" The soldier admitted before grinning darkly as he stared at the little girl in the woman's arms. "But she might"

"Excuse me, Herr Soldier" A voice called from behind him. "But I was wondering if you could help me find a _freund_ of _mien_"

Whipping round as his hand went to his empty blaster holster, the soldier saw Nightcrawler standing behind him whilst his tail tossed the blaster into the air before catching it.

"He's about my height, always scowling und has steel claws" Nightcrawler finished before throwing the blaster down the corridor. "Kind of like the man this family you are holding prisoner looked after, after he saved their daughter"

The soldier scowled as he looked about to find out what had happened to the men he had patrolling the detention block. Instead he saw the mutants who were supposed to be in their cells in the corridor heading towards the exit whilst the soldiers were somehow in the cells in their place. Now snarling, the soldier was about to strike Nightcrawler with his fist when he saw the angry look the elf was sporting.

"Now I accept that there are many people who do not like us for what we are" Nightcrawler growled as he stepped towards the soldier making the soldier take a step back. "But people who go about harming children, regardless of whether becoming a mutant or not, makes me want to become the monster you people claim I am"

The soldier gasped as he felt his back press against the back wall of the cell. Nightcrawler kept walking until they were a foot apart.

"Fortunately" Nightcrawler growled angrily before suddenly smiling and becoming cheerful. "I can't stay angry when there's a child about, _auf wiedersehen_"

With that, Nightcrawler teleported out of the cell which had its containment door activated trapping the soldier inside.

"Excuse me, Mr Elf?" the little girl asked Nightcrawler as he led the group of escapees out of the detention block.

"Ja, little fraulien?" Nightcrawler said politely as he bent down to the girl's level.

"I've seen your friend" the girl replied happily before pointing down the hall to where Wolverine and Beast were approaching them. "He's right over there"

"Why, so he is. Logan you must stop getting yourself lost, it's making me get grey fur" Nightcrawler mock scolded making the girl laugh.

"Zip it Elf" Wolverine replied quietly.

-\#/-

The soldiers in the hanger did not know what hit them. One minute they were patrolling the hanger they were protecting, the next something pounced from the shadows into the two soldiers on the rear guard forcing their heads to collide with the ground and making them blackout. The other two only had time to register hearing something behind them before their heads collided with one another and knocking each other out.

"_Patetico_" Tigerhawk muttered as he let the two fall to the ground.

Quickly stashing their bodies into one of the choppers cargo holds, Tigerhawk went about sabotaging all the helicopters minus the one nearest the hanger door. As he made his way from the last sabotaged helicopter the sound of a gun hammer being cocked reached his ears.

"I thought I forgot someone" He muttered whilst behind him the engineer shakily pointed his pistol at him. In the blink of an eye, he spun round, grabbed the gun in one hand and neck chopped the engineer with the other rendering him unconscious. "_Idiota_ shouldn't have stood so close to me"

"Hey, Stripes!" Wolverine called out as he appeared at the hanger entrance with the rest of the team and the escapees behind him. "Where's our ride?"

"The one closest to you" Tigerhawk answered as he walked up to the group. "I hope someone here knows how to fly it"

"Why else would we bring Hank with us, other than to act as bait?" Wolverine smirked.

-\#/-

The scarred soldier glared as he watched the chopper fly away from them. A soldier had been lucky enough to pass by the detention block and had quickly released all the soldiers that were taking up the space the mutants had recently vacated. Upon reaching the hanger the scarred soldier was told that not only were the other helicopters and jets been sabotaged, the alarm system and radios were disabled as well as the perimeter defences allowing for the mutants to get a clean getaway.

-\#/-

"Those cells we emptied, they'll be full again within twenty four hours" Hank said to Logan, Kurt and Joshua when they returned to the ruins of the institute after relocating the family somewhere safe and letting the other mutants go their separate ways.

"We all know what's going on" Logan said as he stared at the television that was broadcasting a news report about the escape.

"War is coming" said Joshua. "And many will be involved, willingly or not"

"Which means we must revive the X-men" Kurt noted. "Und this time, we will remain united"

~-\#/-~

**Translations**

_Molto oronato: very honoured_

_Scusi: excuse me_

_Messer(s): Mr('s)_

_Buenas noches: good night_

_Evviva: hurrah_

_Patetico: pathetic_

_Idiota: idiot_

_~-\#/-~_

_Quick question: Does anyone know how much of an accent Kurt has in this show? All I've noticed is that he sometimes puts a German word into his sentences now and again, no vees or zees anywhere._

_Answer & review if possible & 'til next time_

_Watch this space & peace out_


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimers on chapter 1_

**Chapter 3**

Logan knew the moment Mr and Mrs Drake appeared in the front door of the house that doing it Hank's way was not going to get their teammate Robert 'Bobby' Drake back on the teen. Despite this, he just kept quiet whilst Hank tried to persuade the parents to let their son choose for himself.

He was still feeling sore from yesterday, particularly when he found Rogue and Warren Worthington III whose codename was Angel due to the white wings protruding from his shoulder blades. He had let Hank talk to Warren -who told him later that he did not want to join the team but was secretly using his wealth to aid mutants less fortunate than others- whilst he went after Rogue.

Rogue flat out refused to rejoin saying that the team would not be together long if its leader kept disappearing. She then disappeared before he could tell her that it was not him who was doing most of the leadership work but rather Kurt who was currently trying to locate other members of the team whilst Joshua was handling the business of reconstructing the mansion using a private firm that used to work with his company now and again; when he still had it at least. That left Logan and Hank to play taxi service and so far they had no passengers, _yet_.

"Bobby _is _eighteen" He heard Hank point out and almost snorted thinking that Hank believed that would help them win the battle of words. "Legally, it should be his decision to make"

"You are not getting our son back!" Mrs Drake declared angrily. "We will not let him leave this house!"

"You guys nearly got him killed last year before he came running home to us" Mr Drake put in.

Logan nearly growled at that. He remembered quite clearly, that Bobby was one of the two people Kurt actually had to yell at to return to their parents when they refused to leave his side. Kurt and Bobby were almost considered brothers in some aspects during their time at the mansion. When it came to pranks, Kurt would plan them, Bobby would execute them and they never missed their mark. When the explosion occurred, Bobby had barely managed to open his mouth before Kurt asked him to help Hank with the wounded using his ice for makeshift casts and ice packs. Logan had to grudgingly admit that, despite Bobby being immature at times, the kid was a loyal friend and X-man.

"This isn't fair" Bobby whined from the staircase he was coming down. "I wanna go with them"

"Bobby, stay in your room until we come for you!" His Mother ordered of him before turning back to Logan and Hank. "I've already called the police, they're on their way!" With that, she slammed the door in Hank's face as he vainly tried to negotiate with them.

'_Finally'_ Logan thought. "We've tried it your way Hank, now let's do it my way"

"Technically, it was actually Kurt's way believing that a peaceful way would be better than-"

"Yeah, yeah, just move from the door" Logan interrupted as he stepped up to the door, and swiftly kicked it open startling the parents. "You comin or what" He said to Bobby whose face immediately lit up before following the usually grouchy mutant.

"Woo-hoo!" Bobby whooped as the MRD chopper they stole the other night took off into the sky. "The X-men are back!"

"Kind of" Logan corrected. "It's just us, a newbie and the elf so far"

"Elf? As in, blue fuzzy dude elf with a sense of humour that matches his appearance?" Bobby asked quickly in one breath eagerly.

"Do you know anyone else who's blue, furry and can put up with you for more than ten minutes?" Logan growled as he felt the familiar migraine that he got whenever Bobby started to annoy him.

"Aw man" Bobby exclaimed cheerfully before suddenly looking worried. "Aw man, we've gotta catch Kitty!"

"Might I inquire to the urgency of this?" Hank asked.

"She told me yesterday that she was leaving for Genosha, she's hoping that Kurt'll be there" Bobby explained quickly. "Her boat left this morning; if we hurry we might be lucky to-aaah!"

Bobby was cut off mid explanation as Hank made the chopper bank hard towards the ocean.

"This might not be the Blackbird, Bobby" Hank said as he plotted a new course that would hopefully intercept Kitty's boat within the next half hour. "But military helicopters can still go quite a speed in the right hands"

-/#\-

Standing on the prow of the ship that would take her to her new home, Kitty Pryde was not thinking about what her new life would be like in a place run by the person she usually saw as an enemy but rather about a person who held a special place in her heart if not her heart itself.

She had first met him nearly three years ago after she spent her first night at the mansion and was looking for the kitchen for breakfast. She had heard him talking quietly to a blonde haired teen her age on the floor below her as she came down the stairs and attempted to lean over the banister so she could hear what they were talking about. Unfortunately, she was still having trouble controlling her powers so instead of leaning over the banister she went through it and landed square in the startled teen's arms.

After weakly apologising once out of his arms, her saviour introduced himself as Kurt Wagner then immediately asked why she was not running from him. When she replied with the question 'why should I be running from a fuzzy elf?' the blonde teen, who she later learned was called Bobby, immediately cracked up whilst Kurt looked at her in equal measures of surprise and amusement.

From that moment on, the three of them became best friends quickly passing the friendship barrier. They would rarely be seen separate from one another and when they were separate it was usually for a couple of hours before they were seen joint at the hip again. As time went on, Kitty began to harbour feelings that were more than just of friendship for the blue elf and she knew that he had some as well.

When the explosion occurred, Kitty and probably everyone else who was able to think straight at the time were surprised when Kurt began issuing orders about like an unofficial leader. She assumed it was due to all the times he worked out prank procedures with Bobby but did not know for sure as whenever the two began talking about causing a prank she would just walk away saying she wanted nothing to do with it, unless Kurt asked for her help.

When Kurt suggested that everyone be sent home, she and Bobby argued with him about staying. Bobby gave up after a short fight; Kitty on the other hand was as stubborn as Logan and kept on arguing pointing out how he would not have a home to return to and anything else she could think of. Despite her admirable attempt, Kitty finally conceded defeat and went home to her home with her parents the same as everybody else.

During the year, she stayed in touch with Bobby and the two of them would either talk about what they did during their time at the mansion before the explosion or ponder over what their best fuzzy friend was doing. When Kitty found out her parents were getting hassled because of her, she quickly made up her mind to leave them and head for Genosha hoping that doing so would help her parents and that Kurt was already at the island.

So here she was; standing at the prow of a ship that was taking her to the domain of the X-men's arch nemesis, when all of a sudden an MRD helicopter suddenly appears before her. At first she was shocked that the MRD was coming for her but that shock swiftly changed to glee when she saw who was piloting the vehicle and what was happening. Taking several steps back, Kitty launched herself at the helicopter and phased through the fuselage to land inside.

"About time you guys showed up" She said as she looked at everyone else who was in the chopper. "Are we going after anyone else next?"

"Fraid not _Half-pint_" Logan answered the girl's question making her eyebrow twitch at his nickname for her.

"Well, have you tried asking others?" Kitty asked as she let the hated nickname slide, this time.

"Yesterday we found a few members of the team, or at least their location" Hank explained. "Unfortunately, the ones we found did not want to return due to...certain issues"

"Let me guess" Kitty began as she started deducting the reasons why they would not come. "Scott is still overcome with grief; I'm guessing Rogue still hates Logan for leaving _again_; Angel probably doesn't want to go against his father anymore than necessarily...am I right so far?"

"You sure you only have one power?" Bobby asked in amazement. "They told me all that on the way to pick you up as well as saying that Piotr doesn't want to return"

"I just use my head more than you" Kitty pointed out tapping her temple to emphasize the point.

"You always were more of an 'all work no play' kinda girl no matter what me and Kurt did to make you see otherwise" Bobby teased.

"Oh I know how to have fun, it's just that your version of fun is pulling pranks on people" Kitty said smiling at the ice manipulator. "Speaking of Kurt, have you tried to find him yet?"

"Nope" Logan replied bluntly knowing it would anger the girl.

"Why not?" Kitty nearly yelled angrily at him. "You saw how efficient he was as a leader during the panic after the explosion. He could easily lead the team better than you"

"Ooh, that must have stung" Bobby noted as he watched the girl begin to chew out the supposedly most dangerous X-man without fear or quarter.

"If you let me finish Half-pint" Logan almost growled at the smallest yet bravest teen he had ever met. "I would have told you that the reason we haven't bothered looking for the damned squirrel is because whilst me and Hank have been going round looking for those you mentioned, including you and Popsicle, he's been trying to locate the rest of the team back at the mansion"

The last part temporarily stunned Kitty before she found her voice. "You already found him?"

"Actually, it was rather he found us" Hank chipped in. "As well as introduce us to our new teammate who is currently using what finances he has left to repair the mansion"

"I thought Angel was the only one who had the wealth to do something like that" Bobby said.

"Not unless the new member is the person whose predecessor helped Charles build his dream" Hank replied.

-\#/-

"I've forgotten how fast these guys work" Joshua mused as he looked around the main foyer of the mansion before heading outside. "And in just over a _demain en huit_ to boot"

Joshua had just finished a brief meeting with the construction sites team leaders and was stepping outside for some fresh air when he heard the sound of approaching rotors. Turning to face the direction in which the sound was coming from, he saw the familiar MRD helicopter being piloted towards the underground hanger that used to hold the SR77 Blackbird, the main mode of transport for the X-men.

Quickly moving through the construction site that held an empty mansion, Joshua made his way into the lift that had a big sticker on its doors saying '**Authorised mutants only**' and took it down to the lower floors that had not been repaired yet. Both Kurt and Hank had agreed that the repair work for the underground base should be rebuilt by a team of skilled technicians under the command of Forge, an X-man with a gift of technology and a right arm to match, assuming they found him.

Upon reaching the entrance to the hanger, the helicopter had already landed and it passengers were already disembarking.

"_Accolga favorevolmente i miei amici e nuovi venuti_" Joshua greeted them in Italian with a bow. "As you can see, you're new home will be ready Friday and I am-"

He was cut off when the brunette the team kept on walking and went straight through him as she walked off evidently searching for someone.

"Something amiss with the _piccina_?" He asked the others as they approached.

"Not so much something as _someone_" Bobby said having a shrewd idea what was going to happen. "I'm Bobby Drake by the way"

"I did not think we would have to include a _cementerio_ in the reconstruction of this place" Joshua said understanding what Bobby meant as he shook the teens hand. "Joshua Greenwald"

Kitty meanwhile, was continuing her search for the elusive blue elf and had just passed the main computer room when she saw him inside with his back to her as he searched the records for the locations of the rest of the team. She noted that the screen was showing many pictures of them that were grouped under headings such as:

_Found and recruited: Beast, Nightcrawler, Tigerhawk (new recruit), Wolverine_

_Found and declined: Angel, Cyclops, Colossus, Rogue_

_Found: Iceman _

_Not found: Forge, Shadowcat, Storm _

Kitty pondered for a moment why she was in the last category before remembering that she had only told Bobby that she was going to Genosha and not anyone else. As she stealthily made her way closer to the chair Kurt was sitting on, she saw him raise a hand to the picture of her and slowly drag a finger down it before sighing heavily.

"Where have you gone Kitty?" He asked the screen quietly unaware that the real Kitty was right behind him.

Kitty allowed herself a small smile before wiping it off her face and raising her right hand. After waiting a few seconds to see if he had noticed, she swung it at his head with all her might.

-\#/-

Kurt was silent as he studied the computer monitor that had all the listed X-men of the old team categorised appropriately as well as updating it with their new friend Joshua. It had been a long week and only yesterday had he and Hank managed to repair the base's main computer using the box of supplies that contained the components Joshua managed to procure from one of his contacts.

Thinking back to the start of the week, Kurt remembered the talk he had between himself, Logan and Joshua. Joshua had explained to the two of them that he had been told to find them by the shaman of his former tribe who said in a letter that the three of them were the chosen three in a vision he had. Logan snorted at this until Joshua handed him the letter the shaman had wrote. He had barely read half of the letter before his eyebrows shot into his hair at the part that clearly depicted him.

_-*#*-_

"_You must be kidding me" Logan said as he threw the letter back on the table. "That's not me that quack-pot's talking about"_

_Kurt picked up the discarded letter and quickly browsed it grinning slightly. "I don't know about that Logan. You're the only _veteran berserker _I know about"_

_Logan snorted before glaring at Kurt. "At least I'm not a _demonically disguised angel_ fuzzball"_

"_Either way" Joshua interrupted. "The letter clearly states that the three of us have to lead the X-men"_

"_Even so, what does he mean by being 'guided from in front of us'?" Kurt asked curiously. "And how are we going to lead between the three of us for that matter?"_

"_Well, judging by our recent mission and specialties" Joshua began. "I'll be handling the finances, Logan shall be battle commander whereas you'll be leader whenever there is no battles to be fought"_

"_Sounds about right" Logan agreed._

"_V-vas?" Kurt exclaimed in shock when he realised what this meant. "But I can't lead"_

"_Could've fooled me" Logan snorted. "You seemed to be in your element during the aftermath of the explosion"_

"_But I could not keep us together" Kurt pointed out._

"_You had no choice, given what had happened" Joshua countered. "Anyone else in your place would have probably done the same"_

_Kurt sighed in defeat as he accepted his fate. "I just hope the others will think along the same lines"_

_-*#*-_

'_So far, it seems that either no one thinks I can keep the position or they just don't want to return'_ Kurt thought to himself as he gazed at the computer screen particularly at the picture of Shadowcat aka Kitty Pryde.

Kurt knew that things between the two of them would be choppy to start off with not that he could blame her, he did yell at the girl to go home despite her best efforts to remain by his side. Ever since they had first met, Kurt had harboured strong feelings towards Kitty yet hid them knowing that there was no way she would love him the way he loved her and the fact that she was underage at the time.

'_Come to think of it, she must be about a couple of weeks over eighteen now'_ Kurt mused as he brought a hand up to the picture of the girl who had stolen his heart.

Not a day had gone by since the dismemberment of the X-men, did he not think of her. She had always plagued his dreams regardless of whether they were good or bad and wherever he went he saw something that would remind him of her. The moment the computer he was sitting at was working again, Kitty was the first person he searched for only to be disheartened upon finding out that she had left home in the hopes of giving her parents some relief from the anti-mutant crowds.

"Where have you gone Kitty?" He asked the screen quietly as he slowly dragged a finger down the picture of her as if trying to draw some comfort from it. _'I can't do this without you'_

Sighing heavily before attempting to at least locate Forge so that he could repair and improve the underground levels with the team Joshua had suggested Kurt suddenly felt something strike the right hand side of his face with such force that he was spun around to meet his attacker.

"_Wer in der Welt-_?" Kurt began cursing before stopping in his tracks when he saw who the assailant was.

"That was for yelling at me to leave over a year ago" Kitty said quietly as she looked Kurt straight in the eyes.

Kurt averted his gaze, accepting the pain as he brought a hand up to check to see she had left a mark -or rather an imprint- before being surprised again when Kitty suddenly straddled his lap as she wrapped her arms tightly round his neck.

"This is to show you how much I've missed you" She sniffed slightly as the feel of his fur weakened her barriers before pulling away so she could look at his face again. "And this is to show you how much I want you"

Before he could comprehend what she meant in that last statement, Kitty pressed her lips against Kurt's with such passion and force that it was evident that she had wanted to do it for a while now. Regaining the use of the limbs that had frozen when he was hugged, Kurt wrapped his arms tightly round the girl as he returned the kiss with as much passion if not more than what she was giving him. Reluctantly, the two parted when the lack of air became too much to ignore allowing Kurt to see that Kitty had been silently crying throughout the kiss.

"Something tells me I'm not off the hook yet" He joked as he gently brushed away her tears with his thumb.

"Damn right you're not, Fuzzy elf" Kitty replied as she kept Kurt's hand in place with one of her own as she stared into his glowing orbs.

"Hook, line and sinker more like" Came Bobby's voice from the doorway effectively breaking the moment.

"Definitely about time in my books" Hank noted.

"No kidding" Logan agreed.

"Ah love, _aussi __beau que l'ocean et mysterieux comme ciel_" Joshua commented in French before sounding slightly confused. "Or is it the other way around?"

Kitty whipped her head towards the doorway whilst Kurt tilted his to the side to see the rest of the team standing there watching them.

"Have you guys ever heard of privacy?" Kitty all but snarled at the interlopers.

"Isn't that what bedrooms are for?" Bobby pointed out causing Kitty to huff in annoyance.

"For our sakes Mr Greenwald" Hank said as he turned to Joshua. "I do hope you've made the bedrooms sound proof for just such a scenario"

"That was the first thing I made sure was in the blue prints before giving them the go ahead" Joshua answered smirking. "There was bound to be a few relationships to flourish after being separated for so long for some people"

Kurt could not help but suddenly laugh out loud. He could not help it. The reunion with his friends, the discovery of his new relationship, the camaraderie between the team despite the new addition; he was confident that he could lead them now.

_~-\#/-~_

**Translations**

_demain en huit: a week tomorrow_

_accolga favorevolmente i miei amici e nuovi venuti: welcome my friends and newcomer_

_piccina: little one_

_cemmenterio: cemetery_

_wer in der Welt: who in the World_

_aussi beau que l'ocean et mysterieux comme ciel: as beautiful as the ocean and as mysterious as the sky_

_~-\#/-~_

_Review if possible & 'til next time_

_Watch this space & peace out_


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimers on chapter 1_

**-*#*-**

_-The Brotherhood escaped after levelling a street of abandoned warehouses. Still at large, the Sena-_

Having heard enough about the damage those freaks were making, Warren Worthington II turned off the television in his private study.

Today had not been a good day for him. During Senator Robert Kelly's press conference earlier today, Worthington's latest invention for hunting down mutants like those on the evening news went rampant through the public crowd. Not only was it found looking like it had shot itself, the project was shut down seeing as it was unpredictable.

Fortunately, Worthington was a patient man. He would just wait until this Brotherhood or another group of freaks attacked the Senator. In the man's rage to wipe all mutants off the world, Kelly would demand that the project be restarted, the registration act would be signed and the money in Worthington's pockets would be holding its usual capacity.

As he made to leave his study, Worthington was surprised when a jeep suddenly ploughed through the wall. When the dust settled, Worthington saw six mutants staring at him. Quicksilver, the leader of the Brotherhood who could move at light speed; Domino, a sharpshooter who could change probabilities; Toad, apparently named after his toad-like appearance and powers; Blob, a giant of a mutant with inhuman strength; Avalanche, a foreigner from across the seas who could create tremors through the supersonic sound waves his hands emitted and one other girl Worthington did not remember on their team. But was the insignia on her jacket that of the X-men?

"What do you want?" He asked as he backed away before Quicksilver intercepted him.

"You've got Kelly's ear, we want the rest of him" Quicksilver replied stepping towards the millionaire making him back up into Avalanche. "Where is he?"

"I'm not telling you anything" Worthington spat at the man before finding himself clasped in the earthquake maker's grip.

"_Au contraire_, you're going to tell us _everything_" As Quicksilver spoke the girl in the jacket bearing the X-men insignia stepped forward removing one of her yellow gloves in the process. When the girl's uncovered hand touched Worthington's cheek, he felt as if he was being drained of his energy.

~#~

Kurt stretched his arms as high as they could as he walked into the kitchen sighing in content when he felt the kinks disappear amidst a cluster of clicks emanating from his spine. Pouring himself a cup of hot coffee from the recently come to boil pot, he sat himself down at the table where Bobby was currently finishing off his bowl of cereal.

"So" Bobby muttered round a mouth full of frosted flakes before swallowing. "Did she kill you, or bring you back to life?"

"A gentleman does not discuss such things. Und when I say gentleman, I mean in how they treat the ladies not appearances" Kurt added when he saw Bobby open his mouth to comment causing the ice manipulator to pout.

"Spoilsport" He muttered before bringing his cereal bowl to his lips and draining it of its remaining milk.

Kurt shook his head. Out of everybody who experienced the explosion, Bobby seemed to be the least affected by it. Kurt was both happy and jealous of the teen because of it, happy that someone managed to stay themselves whilst jealous that the explosion took away his sense of humour and replaced it with a sense of responsibility.

"But seriously" Bobby continued oblivious to the elf's musings as he put down his bowl. "You and Kitty were awfully quiet in your room. Either you two did nothing or Josh's work force made the bedrooms really sound proof"

That got a chuckle out of Kurt. "All we did last night was hold each other close whilst we slept. Perhaps next week, you will have to use ear plugs"

Bobby laughed out loud at that. He knew that Kurt had changed but he still had that optimistic side of him that he was known for.

"Hey, remember when we first met Kitty?" He asked chuckling causing Kurt to chuckle too as the memory came to mind.

-#-

"_You sure Scott won't be mad at us when we do this?" Bobby asked Kurt as they went over the plans for their latest prank. "You know how fond of that convertible he is"_

"_Nien" Kurt replied waving away the concern his partner in crime seemed to have. "Ve both know that Jean and him are holding candles for von another. This is just a test for him to show vhat's more important to him; a red haired fraulien or a red hot sportwagen"_

_Bobby conceded to the elf's logic. Apparently Scott and Jean were going out for breakfast together and Kurt had decided to prank the fearless leader in a way that would get them together if Scott played his cards right; in other words care less for the car and be content for being with the girl of his dreams._

_As the two of them discussed the finer points of how and when to fill the keyholes with chewing gum, a girl several months younger than Bobby had heard their voices as she came down the stairs and was now trying to see what they were up to by leaning over the banister. The girl was barely able to gasp as she suddenly fell through the banister and landed squarely in Kurt's arms whilst the elf in question stared at what he had caught by pure luck._

"_Talk about dropping in on someone" Bobby commented as he looked to where the girl had fallen from._

"_Sorry about that" the girl apologised barely audible as she was gently placed back on her feet by Kurt. "I only just got here so my powers are still not under my control yet"_

"_No vorries" Kurt chuckled as he recovered from the shock of a girl suddenly appearing in his arms. "Ve haff newcomers dropping in all the time"_

_The girl laughed at his pun and Kurt found that the sound of her laughter made his heart flutter until it nearly stopped when the girl got a good look at him yet did not seem at all disturbed judging by her smile._

"_I take it you're the carefree optimistic one in the place?" She asked in good humour._

"_Trust me when I say that this guy can make anyone smile, except maybe Logan" Bobby joked before introducing himself. "I'm Bobby, and your furry saviour there is Kurt"_

"_Pleased to meet you, boys. I'm Katherine, but in school everyone called me Kitty" the girl said turning back to Kurt and noticing he was frowning about something. "Something the matter?"_

_Kurt shook his head realising he had been lost in thought. "It's nothing really Kitty; it's just that...vell...vhy aren't you running avay from me?"_

_Kitty looked confused as she gave Kurt a look over before replying. "Why should I be running from a fuzzy elf?"_

_At the girl's question, both boys felt their eyes widen. Bobby mouthed what Kitty had called Kurt before cracking up and doubled over as he began laughing his head off._

-#-

"I was called that by everyone there for two weeks before it was only her that called me that" Kurt sighed remembering that whenever anyone other than Kitty calling him a fuzzy elf made his left ear twitch irritably for some odd reason.

"You also still couldn't pronounce the letter W yet either" Bobby reminded him.

"You should have heard me seven years ago when I first got here" Kurt countered. "Couldn't pronounce W's and the th syllable plus my speech was half German half English whenever the words sounded the same"

"Bet that got a few heads rolling" Bobby chuckled as he imagined Kurt trying to talk to someone not versed in the German lingo.

There was a moment of silence as Kurt finished off his coffee whilst Bobby looked round the kitchen as if trying to find any differences between this mansion and the old one.

"Say Kurt, you're not going to disappear again, are you?" Bobby suddenly asked out of the blue suddenly all serious like.

Kurt blinked several times at the question. "What brought this on all of a sudden?"

"Ever since we disbanded, or rather ever since you told me and Kitty to go home, she hasn't been the same" Bobby explained looking Kurt dead in the eye.

"She may have been able to hide it, but Kitty wasn't herself from that day on. Sure, she seemed all cheerful and that during our talks via webcam but not knowing where you were, knew that you weren't gonna be there for her, it really hurt her. When Logan told us yesterday that you were already at the mansion, she seemed to perk up. I could tell that she was back to normal when I heard her slap you, made wince just hearing it"

Kurt was dumbstruck. He knew that Kitty would have taken the separation hard, but he never thought that it would make her a shell of her former self.

"What I'm trying to say is, break her heart and I'll deepfreeze you so bad that you'll thaw after mine and Kitty's great, great grandchildren have grandchildren" Bobby finished.

"Couldn't you just say you'll freeze me until hell freezes over?" Kurt asked nearly face planting the table at Bobby's lame threat.

"Sorry, threats ain't my speciality" Bobby chuckled weakly as he rubbed the back of his head. "I just wanted to make sure you got the message"

Kurt chuckled before teleporting behind Bobby and leaning his arm on the blonde's head. "Do you remember what Kitty did to me when I accidentally used and finished the whole bottle of her favourite shampoo two years ago?"

Bobby snorted before managing to clamp his mouth shut. One of the downsides to having fur was that it took nearly a whole bottle of shampoo to clean. However, Kurt had accidentally used Kitty's favourite brand and she only knew it was him because of the blue strands of hair sticking to the empty bottle. In revenge, the next time Kurt was having a shower Kitty added some colour dye to the bottle of shampoo was using resulting in Kurt holing in his room for a week until his fur lost its pinkness. It was a pity that Kitty had managed to snap a few pictures of him before he teleported to his room.

"Now that was for something small" Kurt continued knowing that Bobby had remembered judging by the look on his face. "Imagine what she will do to me if I break her heart"

Both Kurt and Bobby winced. The two of them knew that when Kitty got mad it was best to run away before being used to vent off steam, if you were the reason she got mad you had better have a will and testament drawn up before she sunk her claws into you.

"Point taken" Bobby acknowledged praying that Kurt was not stupid enough to do that. "Say, where is she anyway?"

"Probably just getting up" Kurt shrugged. "It is only eight in the morning, and Kitty never was an early riser on a weekend"

~#~

Kitty had no other choice than to open one eye when she rolled over and could not feel the soft fur of her new boyfriend sleeping beside her. Seeing the bed devoid of her fuzzy elf, she grumbled something about early risers before deciding to get up herself. Quickly gathering her clothes and making her way to the bathroom across the hall, Kitty allowed herself to look back over last night as she left the warm water flow over her.

-#-

"_As you can see, the place is basically just a replica of the old mansion" Kurt commented as he gave her a tour of her new home._

_Kitty nodded as she looked around. The place had a certain nostalgic feel about it despite being new and it made her feel slightly uncomfortable._

"_Feels like I never left yet at the same time like I just arrived here" Kitty noted as she squeezed Kurt's hand tighter._

_Kurt understood what she mean, having experienced it himself when Joshua gave him, Logan and Hank a tour of the place when it was just an empty building._

"_You'll get used to it eventually" He said whilst squeezing her hand in reassurance._

_The two of them continued through the mansion until they stopped in front of one of the bedrooms._

"_Here is your room milady" Kurt said in a gentlemanly way as he opened the door to Kitty's room. "It's bare for the moment, but once we've got everything sorted I'm sure you'll have-"_

_Kurt stopped mid speech when he realised that he was talking to himself. Looking round Kurt realised that Kitty had apparently walked off or phased through the floor probably to find Logan and Hank and ask about what they've been up to or interrogate Joshua. He was therefore surprised when he entered his own room to find Kitty sitting on his bed as she tested its firmness._

"_Uh what are you doing?" He asked confusedly._

"_Testing how comfy the bed is" Kitty answered the 'duh' was unsaid but the way she said it definitely implied it._

"_That I can see I was actually referring as to why you are in my room" Kurt specified._

"_You mean _our_ room" Kitty corrected. "There is no way that I am letting you get away from me after being separated for a year"_

"_But... why?" Kurt asked as he sat down beside her. "Like you said, we haven't seen each other in a year. Plus the way we parted was me practically yelling at you to go home"_

"_And you were punished accordingly" Kitty smoothly replied neglecting to tell him that her hand smarted from slapping him as she straddled his lap surprising Kurt slightly but placing his arms round her waist all the same. "Kurt, I've had feelings for you since _before_ the explosion but I never thought that you would reciprocate them. Now that I know you love me to, I just want to make sure that, every day I wake up, what happened before was not a dream"_

_Kurt nodded in understanding as he hugged Kitty tightly before moving back slightly so that he could gaze into her sky blue orbs as a grin appeared on his furry features. "I hope that's not your only reason"_

_Despite feeling the blood rush to her cheeks, Kitty smiled back at the grinning elf. "And if it isn't?" She asked coyly only to feel herself melting as Kurt pressed his lips to her own._

_-#-_

Kitty sighed contently as she finished getting her clothes on. The only downside she could think of her new relationship with Kurt so far was that he was not beside her when she woke up. Then again, Kurt had always been an early bird. She would have to remember to either hold him more tightly tonight or tie his tail to her, that or just ask him to stay in bed holding her until she woke up herself.

"_Buongiorno, Piccina" _Joshua greeted her as she stepped out of the bathroom. "I hope you managed to..._sleep well_ last night"

'_Boy did I'_ Kitty thought to herself understanding the feline's meaning. "It was a little uncomfortable to get used to in the beginning, but in the end it was _extremely_ pleasant for both of us"

Kitty managed to refrain from giggling out loud at the look on Joshua's face. The poor guy seemed to having trouble figuring out if she was referring to getting to sleep or being intimate. As much as she wanted it to be the latter, Kitty and Kurt had basically just fallen asleep in each other's arms. There was always tonight and beyond she reasoned.

"By the way" Kitty continued as the two of them made their way to the kitchen, "Sorry about walking off like that when we first met"

"It is fine, _Piccina_" Joshua waved away her concern. _"Amour_ always has more priority than _amitie_"

Kitty blinked in confusion at the once successor of one of the most financial businesses known to date. "How many languages do you know?"

"English, French, German, Italian, some Latin and Spanish" Joshua replied. "Familiar with any?"

"You kidding?" Kitty snorted. "I have to keep asking Kurt to repeat whatever Kurt says in German into English, sometimes more than once for the same sentence. I think he just does that to annoy me now that I think about it"

The two of them continued to ask questions about each other until they reached the kitchen where Kurt and Bobby were apparently discussing something about the big cats.

"He's as fast as a cheetah and agile as a leopard, going by what I saw when I first met him" Kurt said to Bobby niether noticing who was behind them.

"If he's anything like you, he'll also be stealthy so that adds the panther to the mix" Bobby added. "And isn't a jaguar supposed to be powerful grip wise or something?"

"Considering how far that Mardy flew when he kicked him, we'll just say he has a jaguar's power and his strength is from a Lion"

"So we've got a cheetah, a jaguar, a leopard, a lion, a panther...what about tiger?"

Kurt thought about it for a second. "Cunning?"

The two of them looked at one another before shaking their heads in sync. "Nah/Nien, appearance"

Kitty could no longer hold it in and laughed at the two of them. Seeing them discussing something then simultaneously shaking their heads and agreeing to something else at the same time reminded her of all the times they planned their pranks. Her laughter brought the two of them to realise they were not alone and turned to the doorway where they saw Joshua and Kitty standing there.

"Don't mind us Josh, we're just talking about which of the big cats you got what from" Bobby said earning a glare from Kurt making him realise he was not supposed to say that as the other two made their way to the table.

Before anyone else could say anything Beast suddenly appeared in the doorway looking concerned. "Would you four mind coming down to the basement? We have a problem brewing"

~#~

"Rogue!" Bobby nearly shouted when he saw who was in the briefing room with Logan.

"I knew you'd come back" Kitty exclaimed as she went to hug her best friend before both Bobby and her were stopped by a look from Logan. Rogue meanwhile, was staring at Kurt in disbelief as if she was not expecting him to be here.

"Everyone get suited up" Logan ordered them. "I'll explain everything on the way"

Everyone apart from Kurt complied with the order whilst the elf stared at Rogue in concern. Did he imagine it, or did he see shock flit across her face for a brief instant?

"So, ah hear you're thah big cheese around here now" She said as she walked up to him and gave him a quick hug. "Or at least one of 'em"

"I handle matters that Logan can't handle, which is anything that doesn't include tearing something to pieces" He whispered the last part in her ear causing her to snort.

"Well regardless of thah chain of command, yah better listen to thah man's orders" she said as she pointed in the direction of the locker room.

When Kurt disappeared and left Rogue all alone in the briefing room, did she finally let the worry show on her face. She never expected to see Kurt; she had thought that Logan was trying to reunite the X-men. She was actually going to regret this.

~#~

"So the Brotherhood's gonna attack Kelly at his press conference?" Iceman asked disbelievingly after Rogue had finished explaining what she had done last night with the group as the team headed towards the warehouse the press conference was being held at in the MRD chopper they had procured.

"If those _Dummkopfs_ even succeed in injuring him, that registration act of his will be put through before the week is _terminar_" Tigerhawk stated.

"Then we'll just have to stop them before they do" Wolverine said. "Regardless of what they think of us"

"Something doesn't feel right about this" Nightcrawler muttered as he thought over what Rogue said. "But I just can't pin it"

"You're just afraid you'll mess up in front of Kitty" Iceman joked as he coated himself in ice whilst Nightcrawler raised an eyebrow at him.

"Says the teen who probably hasn't exercised at all since his last mission" Nightcrawler teased back.

"Come on boys" Shadowcat said stepping between them. "Don't go fighting over me now"

"Can it you three!" Wolverine growled at them wiping the grins off their faces. "This is no time to be kidding about"

"Looks like somebody didn't get their coffee this morning" Iceman muttered to Nightcrawler.

"You don't want to see him when he doesn't get his beer" Nightcrawler whispered in return.

~#~

"We got X-men!" Toad hollered down to Domino from where he was perched on a billboard once the MRD chopper the X-men were flying flew past.

Domino grinned before jumping from the roof of the building she was on and landing on the fire escape stairs. Hanging from the rail by her legs alone, Domino aimed her rifle at one of the windows to the ware house and fired all but one of the golf ball sized BB pellets in the clip at it. Smashing through the glass, the balls ricocheted from one overhanging light to the next causing mass panic in the crowd below.

As the MRD soldiers outside ran in to see what was going on, the chopper containing the X-men arrived.

"We're too late!" Rogue exclaimed causing Wolverine to growl.

"Shadowcat, phase us in!" He barked.

"Better hold on to something" She advised before phasing herself through the bottom of the chopper until all but her hands were hanging out from under it.

Putting all her concentration into phasing the chopper and its passengers, the MRD soldiers down on the ground gaped as the chopper went straight through the wall so that it was hovering inside the warehouse.

"Go, go, go!" Beast barked as he kept the chopper hovering.

The X-men needed no second telling. The moment the side door to the chopper opened, the X-men jumped out one after the other bar Nightcrawler who teleported out and Iceman who created an ice slide and went flying over the soldiers head distracting them from the rest of his teammates freezing several of their weapons as he went.

The moment Tigerhawk landed he performed a capoeira flare that sent several soldiers to the ground. Using the momentum of his last move, he then did two spin kicks one after another sending two more solders down. Wolverine, whilst not as fluid as Tigerhawk, was cutting down MRD soldiers just as effectively whereas Nightcrawler was a blur as he teleported from one soldier to the next after punching, kicking or throwing them into one another creating mass confusion among the troops. One of the guards he sent flying would have struck Shadowcat if she was tangible but instead went through her and slammed into the soldier she was fighting.

Whilst the fighting was going on inside, Domino had set her sights on the chopper Beast was piloting and firing her last shot at it. The chances of that steel sphere hitting the chopper in the right place to cut its engine were a million to one, but with Domino's power to change probabilities all bets were off as it struck bull's-eye.

Realising that he was going down, Beast jumped out of the chopper whilst Nightcrawler teleported into it and teleported it outside where it crashed into the ocean. Teleporting back inside before impact, Nightcrawler went down on one knee as he regained his breath. One soldier noticed this and aimed his rifle at him only to gasp as Shadowcat phased through him taking the gun with her before using it as a bat to knock him out.

"Remind me again, why I'm always saving your tail?" She asked the furry mutant as she helped him get back up.

"Because you like what it's attached to?" Nightcrawler asked uncertainly before suddenly darting forward and punching the soldier that was about to strike Shadowcat from behind.

Meanwhile, whilst Tigerhawk and Beast finished off the remainder of the soldiers, Wolverine scanned the now empty building.

"There not here" he muttered seeing none of the Brotherhood or Rogue. "X-men, let's go!"

Seconds later, Nightcrawler had teleported Wolverine and Beast into an abandoned alley just outside whilst Iceman suddenly came out the wall on his ice-slide with Shadowcat and Tigerhawk hitching a ride

"We were set up" Wolverine growled as they took off down the back alleys towards the mansion. "The Brotherhood _used_ Rogue"

"More like Rogue tricked us" Tigerhawk said with a heavy heart. "She disappeared the moment we started fighting"

"Does this mean she's our enemy now?" Iceman asked hoping he was wrong.

"I hope to God she's not, but circumstances suggest otherwise" Nightcrawler answered.

~#~

"Nice job" Domino complimented Rogue when the former X-men entered the Brotherhood's hideout.

"Yeah, in one fell swoop you set up the X-men _and_ proved your loyalty to the Brotherhood" Quicksilver added. "Welcome aboard"

Rogue just grinned, feeling that she finally felt where she belonged.

_-*#*-_

_Sportwagen=sports car_

_Buongiorno, Piccina=Good morning, little one_

_Amour=love_

_Amitie=friendship_

_Terminar=finished/over_

_-*#*-_

_Review if possible & 'til next time_

_Watch this space & peace out_


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimers on chapter 1_

**-*#*-**

It was a sombre mood that enshrouded the recently repaired and refurbished mansion this morning. After having discovered that one of their former teammates had set them up in front of a conference hosted by Senator Kelly, the X-men were forced to retreat through the back streets of New York until they reached the mansion.

The only bright side of that day was that they had found Forge, a Native American like Joshua who was gifted in mechanics and technology, along the way. Upon returning to the mansion, Forge immediately set to work on repairing the underground levels. Unfortunately, Forge had a habit of modifying things during construction so Logan kept on shifting him from place to place whenever the technician gave something an extra boost only for it to blow up in someone else's face; usually Logan's.

"Quit with the tapping, Stray" Logan growled at Joshua who was tapping the side of his mug at such a speed it sounded like an endless bag of marbles spilling out onto a hard surface.

"_Scusi_" Joshua apologised after letting go of his mug. "I am not used to doing nothing"

Logan knew how the guy felt. Had this been the old days, he would have been in the Danger Room by now unleashing his rage and fury at whatever came his way. Instead he was stuck sitting in the lounge with Joshua whilst Forge attempted to repair said room and praying that he was not tinkering about with its programming again.

The door to the lounge suddenly opened revealing Bobby and a platinum blonde haired woman in a white suit. It was obvious from the frown that suddenly bloomed on Logan's face that he knew the woman, Joshua did not but that did not stop the hairs on the back of his neck from bristling as he gazed at the woman as if there was something about her that gave him bad vibes.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Logan growled as he stood up. "What do you want?"

"Right to the point, I like that" The woman said with a British accent. "I've decided to join the X-men"

**-*#*-**

"So what's in this for you?" Kurt asked the woman after being told about why she was here.

"Now why would you think that my dear fellow?" the woman queried in return.

"You're Emma Frost; former head of a small school for mutants as well as a former member of the Hellfire club where you were known as the White Queen; powers are telepathy and turning your skin into diamond" Kurt replied before raising an eyebrow at her. "Need I continue?"

"My my, there really is more to you than your devilish good looks" Emma admired as stepped in close to him. "Why don't you tell me what you think I am here and what I can give you"

Kurt took a step back from the woman before replying. "You wish to be part of a team; we need a telepath to operate Cerebro"

"Does it need to be her?" Logan asked out loud obviously not liking what he was hearing.

"She _is_ the only other person who is capable of using Cerebro that we know of at this moment" Hank pointed out. "We might never get another chance like this one"

"She'll probably just use it for her own needs then disappear. I say we toss her out" Kitty put in apparently aggravated about something.

"Is that your head or your heart talking _Piccina_?" Joshua asked causing Kitty to glare at him.

Kurt meanwhile was weighing the options. On one hand, they could take Emma onboard and attempt to locate Xavier and even Jean; on the other, they could be giving Emma the chance she needed to access Cerebro for her own agenda. Clearly something had to be done to allow her to use it but not for herself.

"How about this; we'll allow you use of Cerebro but whenever you wish to use it, either myself or Logan must be present" Kurt suggested.

"Ah, I see. You plan on asking this Forge person to install an identity scanner on the door to Cerebro that can only be accessed by those you're thinking of and to make sure it is not tampered with you'll ask him to rig it up to the main systems circuitry so that if anyone does try to tamper with it it'll lock down the whole lower level" Emma concluded clearly reading Kurt's mind to see what he was planning before stepping closer to him again and stroking his cheek. "Clearly you are more intriguing than I imagined"

"He also is not interested in you!" Kitty added stepping in between them and looking for any excuse to hurt the woman before her.

Emma smirked at the smaller girl as if believing that Kitty was nothing more than a bug under her boot before looking pointedly at Kurt again. "So, when can I move in?"

Several hours later, Hank, Logan, Forge and Emma were in the Cerebro chamber where Forge had just recently put the finishing touches to the control console.

"Remember, you're on holy ground here" Logan warned the telepath.

Emma just chuckled. "If this is how you lead it's no wonder why Mr Wagner is in charge around here"

Logan just growled. Kurt had just recently left to go see if he could talk Scott into joining leaving him in charge.

"Now all you have to do is-" Forge begun explaining to Emma before she cut him off.

"Please, I read your mind on the way in" She scoffed before putting on the head piece and activating Cerebro. Within minutes she had removed the head piece and was breathing heavier than usual clearly not expecting the strain Cerebro took on someone and why only Xavier could operate it.

"Well?" Logan asked hoping that she would say that she could not find Charles and give him an excuse to kick her out.

"He's in Genosha"

**-*#*-**

Scott Summers may have slowly been wasting away ever since the explosion one year ago where he lost Jean, but his instincts were still sharp. Within a second of noticing someone sneaking into his apartment, he was sitting up in his bed and about to optics-blast whoever was intruding only to see a prehensile tail holding his shades in place.

"Not as rusty as I expected" Kurt noted an easy grin on his face before casually looking round the apartment. "I must say, how do you make your walls so _holy_? And I love what you've done with the TV, probably saves space that way, although you could've at least made sure it didn't go in at an angle"

"What are you doing here, Kurt?" Scott asked shoving the elf's tail out the way only to be shocked when Kurt suddenly punched him one right in the face sending to the floor. "What the hell!" He hollered as he quickly stood up and prepared to add a new hole to his wall.

"That's for just giving up" Kurt said as he massaged his sore knuckles. "Do you really think Jean would just give up like that if you were in her place?"

Scott just glared at him, whether it was because he was too angry to speak or ashamed at himself for giving up so easily he no one but himself knew.

"Listen" Kurt began softly. "You know that the X-men are regrouping again, that Logan shaped hole in the wall obviously proves it"

"So?" Scott replied sounding like he did not care.

"So come back to us, we have someone who can operate Cerebro and there's a good chance she can find the Professor. If we can find him, then surely Jean must be somewhere as well" Kurt explained. "What do you say?"

**-*#*-**

"You must be more desperate than I thought, Mr Wagner" Emma said as she entered the hanger and saw Scott and peeked into his mind. "And before you ask Cyclops, I haven't been able to locate Jean yet"

Scott watched the blonde woman as she walked passed before turning to Kurt who was standing beside him.

"Who's she?" He asked jerking his thumb in Emma's direction.

"Emma Frost, our current Cerebro operator until we find the Professor" Kurt answered before gesturing towards Joshua as he walked through the doors. "And this is Joshua 'Tigerhawk' Greenwald our financer and new recruit"

If Scott was surprised by the name then he kept it hidden. Right now he was currently staring at someone who he had butted heads with since the two of them first met many years ago.

"Logan"

"Summers" Logan grunted in acknowledgement but did not stop moving.

"In the words of the legendary Bugs Bunny; what's the hubbub, bub?" Kurt asked Logan curiously seeing the man in his uniform.

"Magneto's got Charles" Logan growled as he continued towards the newly acquired SR78 Blackbird. "And we're going to pay him a little visit"

"Shouldn't we try calling first?" Kurt suggested only to step back when Logan whipped round and snarled at him.

"And let the creep prepare to shoot us out of the sky? It was him that took Charles all along. So we're gonna go take him back" He snarled before turning his back on him and continuing towards the Blackbird.

"Times like this I wonder how thick that adamantium skull of his is" Kurt muttered before teleporting himself and Scott into the locker room so they could quickly get suited up.

_-*#*-_

_Sorry for the short chapter, I'm having trouble trying to rush these things so I made this one short as sort of a build up for the next chapter. Oh, & in case you haven't noticed, Piccina is Joshua's nickname for Kitty (Any ideas on how she'll react when she learns what it means?)_

_Review if possible & 'til next time_

_Watch this space & peace out!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimers on chapter 1_

_**-*#*-**_

"Now _this_ is the only way to fly!" Bobby commented as he leaned back in his chair as the SR78 Blackbird tore through the sky towards the location of the Isle of Genosha where the Professor was currently located after not been seen for over a year.

"You should consider yourself lucky that this prototype was made and stored in my family's private hanger, _Ghiacciolo_" Joshua commented from the pilot seat. "Otherwise, we may have had _problemas _trying to get to where we are going"

Kurt managed to beat down the grin that was trying to emerge on his face as observed Bobby trying to figure out what he had just been called. Returning to the matter at hand, the elf tried to figure out if what they were doing, sneaking into enemy territory, was the right thing.

Although Magneto seemed to be trying to change his ways since his old friend's disappearance, Kurt could not shake the feeling that there was an ulterior motive to this. And even if he was up to something sinister, surely it would be safer to try the polite way rather than go in guns blazing and demand that he return the Professor to them.

"What's with the gargoyle look?" Kitty asked as she swung her seat round so that she was facing Kurt.

"Just wondering if we are doing the right thing" Kurt replied sighing heavily.

"What do you mean?" Kitty then asked. Her curiosity aroused by her boyfriend's answer.

"I mean; how do we know Magneto won't just invite us in and take us to the Professor without a fight instead of what we are doing now?" Kurt elaborated keeping his voice low so that Logan would not hear him. "For all we know, he might have been looking after him then returning him to us once recovered"

Had Kitty's hair not been tied back, her eyebrows would have disappeared in her fringe at the blue elf's answer. She was not surprised by it though. Kurt always tried to leave fighting as a last resort, and when he did fight it was literally blink and you miss it. She did not know why he was like that but suspected it to be because he did not want to act like the monster he looked like; to those who did not know him at least.

A fun fact about her, Kurt and Bobby was that whenever somebody actually called Kurt a demon, Bobby would be the first to try and make them take it back with the others holding him back. It would then be the boys holding back Kitty when the person added words like heartless and cruel with the second verse; harder than it was considering her power. Never once had Kurt tried to hurt those that assaulted him, both verbally and physically, which was something Kitty admired about him; and, if she was honest to herself, jealous of.

For all we know, he could be waiting for us to do that then pounce when we let our guard down" Kitty pointed out.

"Maybe _mein liebe_" Kurt agreed half heartedly. "But that does not make this feeling of dread in my gut go away any quicker"

"Ten minutes, X-men! Get ready to move!" Logan called from the navigator's seat as the Blackbird made its final approach.

_**-*#*-**_

The Isle of Genosha was pretty much a cluster of buildings on what was once a desolate island many miles from the nearest coast. Using his power of manipulation over metals, Magneto sculptured practically the whole island city out of metals he had summoned from around the world in less than a week. It was fortunate that he had worked with Charles Xavier to create the original school otherwise he might not have been able to start construction in the first place.

Upon the roof of the tallest of the metal structures, obviously the creator's own dwellings, the sound of an aircraft landing and shutting down its engines could be heard. But where was the jet that made those sounds?

Suddenly appearing in mid air and dropping onto the roof then sinking effortlessly through it, Shadowcat quickly scanned her surroundings before radioing the all clear up to the rest of the team aboard the stealth shrouded blackbird. Within minutes the rest of the team was appearing before her in groups as Nightcrawler teleported them inside.

"Impressive decor, or lack thereof" Tigerhawk commented as he gazed at the barren hallway they were in.

"Activate your comms and split up" Wolverine ordered them. "Radio in the moment you locate Charles"

With that, the X-men set off down different corridors and hallways using their own unique methods of searching for the Professor. Tigerhawk sprang nimbly from door to door quickly peeking inside before closing it and moving on to the next; Shadowcat ran through both rooms and corridors whilst making sure no one saw her; Iceman seemed to just wander the hallways aimlessly but kept his guard up all the same; Frost used her telepathy to search corridors within seconds but kept finding no further clue to where the Professor might be; Cyclops disregarded all orders and just blasted every door he saw off its hinges, glancing inside before shooting off the next one.

As for Nightcrawler, he was using a more methodical approach. He knew that Magneto and Xavier were still friends despite being enemies so it would only be fitting to find his mentor in a more warm looking room. Upon detecting a faint fragrance, Nightcrawler followed his nose to one door in particular. Opening the door a crack to see into the room, he quickly teleported inside only to discover that, despite the more decorated walls and bed, he was in the wrong room.

"At least this room's more colourful than the rest of his abode" He chuckled to himself as he made to leave only to find someone blocking his way. "Oh nein"

_**~#~**_

Keeping his guard up as he wandered through the metallic hallways, Wolverine prowled about like a predator searching for its unsuspecting prey. Reaching a pair of metal double doors, Wolverine barely had time to register that his body was no longer under his control before finding himself flying through said doors then sinking into the floor to the room below where a familiar face garbed in red and purple was apparently waiting for him.

"Hello, Wolverine" He said casually before pining the X-man to the wall with a flick of his wrist. "Coming to fight me, knowing I can manipulate _any_ metal, is rather foolish; especially if your skeleton is made of metal"

The wall to Magneto's right suddenly exploded before Cyclops, Iceman and Tigerhawk walked through the still smoking hole. Yet despite being outnumbered, Magneto was unperturbed as if he was used to this tactic.

"Ah, the rest of your cavalry" He noted just as casually making a wall of metal appear in front of him as Cyclops tried to optics blast him.

With just a simple thought, the wall of metal sped towards Cyclops. Despite avoiding the wall a first time, Cyclops was unaware of it coming round for another pass and pin him to the far wall. Another band of metal wrapped round his free arm before he could reach the release trigger on his visor for another shot.

Tigerhawk was the next to tackle the metal master. Using his speed, the Native American feinted a blow to Magneto's chest before striking from behind then the right then the left. Each blow made solid contact with a separate plate of metal Magneto barely managed to put in between him and his opponent. Shaking his hands to try and alleviate the pain, Tigerhawk suddenly found himself wrapped in a sheet of metal before being attached to the wall beside Cyclops.

Smirking at his three captives, Magneto failed to notice Iceman until the mutant not only froze his back but also cleaved his helmet in two. Starting to feel irritated, Magneto disrupted the teen's ice slide by spiking it in several places, causing Iceman to fall to the floor where he was wrapped and stuck to the wall with his fellow X-men.

It was then that Shadowcat emerged from the ceiling with Beast and Frost the latter immediately attempting to subdue Magneto with telepathy now that his helmet, which somehow blocked telepaths and allowed him to hide from Cerebro, had been removed. Despite the mental assault, Magneto still managed to find the strength to send Wolverine into both Frost and Beast and pinning all three to the wall missing Shadowcat only because of her power.

Clearly knowing the fact that she could be practically untouchable, Shadowcat attempted to take on Magneto herself only to stop when a plate of metal floated harmlessly up from the floor.

"You might want to hold on to that" Magneto advised before making the floor around Shadowcat crumble away forcing the girl to grab hold of the floating plate before she fell god knows how many feet to the ground below.

Seven X-men taken down in as half as many minutes, it was clearly obvious why Magneto was considered the X-men's arch-nemesis. Before Magneto could begin coaxing possibly an apology out of Wolverine, reddish clouds suddenly existed where his captives once were. Turning round, Magneto saw his former captives now standing behind a frowning Nightcrawler.

"I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show up" Magneto commented as he faced the elf. "And how, pray tell, are you going to come at me?"

"By trying the easy way seeing as _someone_" Nightcrawler glared over his shoulder at Wolverine. "Decided to just do it the hard way. Cerebro discovered the Professor's location on your island. If he is here, may we see him?"

No sooner had the words left the elf's lips did a metal spear form and rise up so that it was resting just under his chin. Yet Nightcrawler stood his ground despite starting to sweat at what may happen to him if he was wrong which seemed to be coming more probable by the second.

"You lot come invading my own island, attack me then you have the nerve to ask what you could have said over a simple transmission and expect me to just say 'yes'?" Magneto asked casually yet cold at the same time.

"Well, it does sound foolish now that you mention it" Nightcrawler agreed actually managing to grin despite the seriousness and even chuckled slightly. "But we have been off duty for a year and become somewhat rusty during the time"

"Quite" Magneto noted but not removing the spear from underneath Nightcrawler's chin.

Shadowcat was about to dash forward and phase Nightcrawler before the elf found himself becoming a fuzzy lollipop, but someone beat him to it. Suddenly appearing through a side door, a girl with shoulder length brown hair and clad from head to high heeled toe in red made a beeline for Nightcrawler and wrapped her arms round one of his as she looked pleadingly at Magneto.

"He speaks the truth, father" she said to him. "They only came here to find the Professor. They never meant any harm"

"I see you have met my daughter, Wanda" Magneto said sounding slightly surprised at the sudden turn of events.

"Ja, we kind of bumped into one another" Nightcrawler replied neglecting to mention that he had inadvertently entered the girl's room mistaking it for where the Professor might have been held captive. "She was kind enough to point me in the direction of your throne room. Lucky for me, Ja?""

"Indeed" Magneto agreed as he finally removed the spear from underneath Nightcrawler's chin drawing a sigh of relief from him. "I am glad to see that at least _one_ of Charles' children thinks more like him. Had you just asked, or even better use the front door, I would have been happy to oblige"

Swiftly walking away, Magneto guided them towards the room where he was keeping the Professor. Throughout the entire trip, Kitty glared at the girl Magneto called Wanda's back as she was still clinging to her Kurt's arm.

"He appeared on the shore of my island one week ago" Magneto explained as he opened a pair of double doors allowing the X-men to see the Professor apparently slumbering peacefully in bed with a drip attached to one arm. "He has not woken yet since coming here"

Quickly reaching his side, Emma placed one hand on the comatose Professor's forehead only withdraw it when discovering she could sense no brain activity at all.

"Would you be so kind as to allow us to bring him home with us?" Kurt asked Magneto quietly. "We'll inform you the moment we discover a change in his condition, if you wish"

"I suppose it would be for the best" Magneto conceded feeling contempt at what Kurt had provided in return. "But the offer to stay here will always be open to you and your team"

"Why not stay here?" Wanda pressed as she tightened her grip on Kurt's arm not noticing the elf's face show a brief flash of panic before schooling it. "You'll be able to walk about more freely without fearing people running away from you for a start"

"I'm sorry!" Kitty suddenly butted in phasing between the two and causing Wanda to let go of Kurt out of shock and surprise. "But I'm afraid Kurt has so much to do back at the mansion; telling off Logan for his brash actions, locating fellow X-men. Try again in your next life!"

Before Wanda could get another word in, Kitty had taken Kurt by the hand and was guiding out of the room.

"The _unguis_ are out" Joshua muttered to Bobby.

"And I didn't bring any popcorn" Bobby muttered back.

_**~#~**_

"So, what now?" Bobby asked sounding lost.

The team had returned to the mansion and were currently surrounding the capsule the Professor's body was now housed in.

"To be honest, I thought everything would turn out better once we had found the Professor" Kurt admitted unsure as to what to do next himself.

"We can still search for former X-men and help those who once lived here" Joshua offered from where he was sitting Indian style on the floor. "Wouldn't that be what the Professor would have wanted?"

Before anyone could answer the Native American's question, what could only be described as someone whispering echoes through the hallowed room they were in. Asides Emma and Joshua, to the rest of the X-men the voice could clearly be recognised as Charles Xavier's. Yet if he was lying before them practically brain dead, then how was he speaking to them?

The next second, a mental image of the Professor's face was seen above the capsule where the man's body was resting in.

"Charles, is that really you?" Logan asked not believing what he was seeing.

'_Yes, Logan'_ Xavier replied his voice sounding like it was echoing in a vast empty space.

"What happened? Who did this to you?"

'_I wish I knew' _The Professor replied sadly. _'I remember nothing'_

Most of the X-men felt their hopes fade. If the Professor could not remember, then how could they possibly bring him back?

"Charles, there was an unknown explosion at the institute" Hank explained to his astral friend and colleague. "You went missing, and Jean still is"

Despite hearing this, Xavier pressed on as if only appearing to tell them of something.

'_My X-men, time is of the essence. I come to you with an urgent message'_ he said.

"_Scusi, Professore_" Joshua politely interrupted. "I do not wish to be rude but, you make it sound as if you are talking to us from..."

'_The _future_'_ The Professor finished for him. _'The coma you see me in now will last for twenty years. I have only just awoken and the world I have seen is a nightmare'_

The next second, the X-men gasped as the Professor showed them what it was like twenty years from now. The sky was burned a blood red from the many fires that littered the broken ground; buildings were falling apart; not a single person could be seen on the ruined city streets; towering metal robots that were searching for something or someone. In short, the future looked like a war zone.

"_Sacre bleu_" Joshua muttered in disbelief.

"How did this happen?" Kurt asked weakly vaguely noting Kitty was clutching his arm as she trembled at the sight before her.

'_Because of the X-men'_ Xavier told them sadly. _'In the aftermath of defeat, you walked away allowing the world to become like this. Only together, as a team, do you have any chance of changing the future'_

Xavier suddenly looked round as if something was happening wherever, or rather whenever, he was. _'I must go now, but I shall try to contact you again'_

With that the image of Xavier faded away leaving the X-men alone in the room with only the sounds of the life support machines permeating the silence.

"Guess that clinches it, huh?" Bobby asked the team in general.

"Yeah" Logan replied slowly before shaking out of his stupor and gazing at the rest of them and noticing Kurt was staring at the ground. "What's eating you, Kurt?"

"I was the one who decided to disband the team" Kurt whispered weakly suddenly collapsing to his knees. "I'm the one who's resp-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Kitty interrupted loudly forcing the elf to look at her. "You didn't know at the time and you had no other choice"

"Yeah c'mon, Kurt, it was actually whoever who made the explosion that's responsible for what's supposed to happen" Bobby put in. "Think about it, if it weren't for you, we could all be stuck in chrome dome's dungeon"

Kurt knew what they were saying was true but it still did not remove the doubt that had wormed its way back into his heart and began eating away at his confidence.

"The world needs the X-men, Kurt" Logan said as he stood in front of the elf and offered his hand. "And the X-men need _you_"

Kurt looked around at the team. It was obvious that they would not be here right now if it was not for him, even before the mission to Genosha. Fighting off the doubt that was knowing away at him, Kurt clasped hold of Logan's hand and allowed himself to be pulled up by the older man.

"Looks like the X-men are back for good" He declared causing grins and smiles to appear all round.

_**-*#*-**_

_**To Be Continued**_

_**-*#*-**_

_ghiacciolo _= icicle

_Unguis _= claws

_**-*~#~*-**_

_The reason I'm doing this is because I've got too many fics to update at once & I don't want to rush any of them. There will be a sequel continuing the story eventually but until then-_

_Review if possible_

_Peace out & apologies!_


End file.
